LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 99

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SYNOD REPORTS
convinced that local boards of regents, most of whom are elected by
the Synod, are best positioned to continue to move our schools forward while retaining their identity as LCMS schools.
(2) To make recommendations that could be immediately implemented
by the respective institutions and continue to enhance those current
programs already in place with the seminaries and the CUS schools:

Our task force reports that there is a strong desire among various
entities of the Synod to further strengthen and support our system of
higher education and church worker preparation. We have specifically
recommended the following steps for implementation well prior to
the 2013 convention of Synod:
a. Board of Directors: We strongly recommend continued subsidy for
seminaries and CUS schools from the unrestricted budget of Synod.
Although the decline in unrestricted income to the national Synod
means this cannot now equal what it once did, this subsidy continues
to signal support for our schools and assists in their fiscal stability.
b. Concordia University System: We endorse the efforts of the restructuring in the last convention to add efficiency to the governance of
our seminaries, and we endorse the current efforts of CUS to add
efficiency to our CUS schools by streamlining its method of governance. The Synod in convention elects and holds responsible boards
of regents to maintain the fiscal health of the institutions while also
assuring that they retain a clear LCMS identity. Accreditation agencies also require clear governance channels from the boards of regents. The CUS has prepared revised bylaws that will add efficiency
to the governance of our CUS schools.
c. BOD-CUS: We strongly recommend that they review and strengthen
the system to manage the risk exposure of our CUS schools and
seminaries.
d. CUS: We strongly recommend even greater cooperation among
CUS schools in church worker preparation, with the intent of keeping costs more affordable and providing more efficient peer-groups
across the campuses of the CUS, including the sharing of programs,
technology, and staff.
e. CUS-Seminaries: We strongly recommend that the seminaries work
closely with the pre-seminary directors of our CUS in an effort to
provide a clearer and efficient path toward pastoral formation, one
that takes full advantage of the learning that takes place in the preseminary experience.
f. CUS-Seminaries: We strongly recommend strengthening and enhancing the selection of members to boards of regents and to provide detailed training for boards of regents members through such
entities as the Association of Governing Boards or IN Trust so they
are well-prepared to serve.
g. President-BOD: We strongly encourage the President of the Synod
to explore the feasibility of a special effort to retire the historic higher education debt of the LCMS ($16 million).
(3) To bring recommendations which require convention action to the
2013 LCMS convention for further implementation:

To increase the strength and efficiency of our CUS schools and
seminaries, there remain several items that require the Synod in convention to address.
a. Debt Elimination: We recommend that the convention instruct the
President of the Synod to authorize a feasibility study to determine if
the capacity exists to eliminate the historic higher education debt of
the Synod through a special campaign. This debt of approximately
$16 million costs the CUS $2.5 million annually, which the corporate Synod funds through its subsidy to the CUS. If the capacity is
determined to exist, the convention authorizes the President to appoint a committee to plan and oversee this project.
b. Districts: We call upon the Synod in convention to encourage each
district to continue, or create, a plan to assist church workers with
educational debt to receive assistance in retiring their educational
debt and to increase efforts to recruit and send church-work candi-

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dates to our schools.
c. Congregations: We call upon the Synod in convention to encourage
each congregation to identify and send students to our CUS schools
and seminaries, to pray regularly for them, and to add a line item
to their budget including financial assistance for one or more of the
CUS schools or seminaries, or to participate in adopt-a-student programs, in accordance with its ability. Through this broad-based and
regional support, the financial and other needs of the schools may be
more adequately addressed by our congregations “walking together”
(Synod).
d. Individuals: We call upon the convention to encourage everyone at
the convention to pray for and assist with financial support one or
more of the CUS schools or seminaries, and to encourage others to
do the same, since the potential of more than two million individuals
contributing above and beyond their support to their local congregation to the work of preparing church workers is enormous. We
encourage continued support for “For the Sake of the Church” and
endorse the efforts of CUS schools and seminaries to build endowment and scholarship funds through development efforts.
e. Finally, we call upon the convention to pray fervently that the Lord
of the harvest send forth laborers into His harvest, and that we implore Him to equip us with all things needful to carry out His work.

Resolution 4-04A Task Force
R5-03

5-05A Task Force Report and Recommendations
Background

Res. 5-05A (“To Support Pastoral Formation”), adopted by the
2010 LCMS convention, addresses the concern for pastoral formation. The resolution recognizes that pastoral formation encompasses
important aspects of pre-seminary education, seminary education,
and post-seminary continuing education. It also recognizes that
“necessary growth” in pastoral formation—whether at pre-seminary, seminary, or post-seminary levels—should occur in a broad
range of areas, including “biblical languages, mission training, leadership development, disability awareness, relationship and equipping
skills, etc.”
The first of two “Resolved” sections of Res. 5-05A affirms twelve
“Themes for Pastoral Education” which have been developed by the
Board for Pastoral Education.1 While these “themes” were developed to “provide a planning and guiding focus for the recruitment
and preparation of pastors for the LCMS” (italics added), in a wider
sense they pertain to all levels of pastoral formation.
The second of the two “Resolved ” sections of Res. 5-05A states:
“That the 2010 LCMS convention direct the Council of Presidents
and the administration and faculties of the Synod’s seminaries and
universities to continue to study how best to certify clergy and hold
them accountable for continuing education; and … [t]hat their recommendations be presented at the next Synod convention.” This report
is presented primarily in follow-up to this second section.
During the past triennium, meetings were held to discuss Res.
5-05A. Included were representatives of the Council of Presidents,
administration and faculty members of both seminaries of Synod, and
representatives of the Office of Pastoral Education and the Concordia
University System. In addition, joint meetings of the entire Council of
Presidents and the faculties of each of the seminaries of Synod were
held to discuss Res. 5-05A and the topic of pastoral formation, qualification for first calls, and the importance of continuing education
in the process of career-long pastoral formation.
This report addresses the outcome of those meetings under two
headings which represent the concerns of Res. 5-05A: (1) Clergy
Certification and (2) Accountability for Continuing Education.
2013 Convention Workbook